#I had to search up actors when I got to Tom

[nat-amations]

Eddsworld: The Movie. Featuring Jack Black as Edd, Tom Holland as Matt, Ryan Gosling as Tom, Tara Strong as Laurel,

and Chris Pratt as Tord

[berzahoes]

moments | tom blyth

summary: moments with tom and you <3 oh, and keanu reeves is also there! (reeves!reader)

an: nepo baby reader my beloved 🫶🏼

ON SET OF BILLY THE KID

since your dad had a few weeks off, he decided to visit you and tom on the set of billy the kid, which was filming in canada. tom was nervous since this would be the first time your dad would see him act in person. you understood why since your dad was a big name in hollywood (and also named the nicest guy).

“he just texted, he’s here.” you told tom, who was in already in his billy the kid attire. you were hanging out in his trailer until he was called to set.

“is this really happening?” tom sighed. “keanu reeves is going to see me act . . . holy shit.”

“just pretend he’s not there or just relax. he loves you and he loves everything you’ve been in.” you stood up from the chair and walked over to him.

“apart from being a big actor, he’s your dad. what if he sees that i’m not good enough to be with you?”

“if he ever says anything like that, run. that’s not the real keanu reeves,” you replied and placed a kiss on his lips. “i’ll be right back, I’m going to go find him.”

“i have to be on set in two minutes. i’ll meet you guys over there.” tom said as you exited his trailer in search of your dad.

eventually, you found him talking to the stunt coordinator about, one of his favorite subjects, motorcycles.

“sorry to interrupt,” you apologized for cutting into their conversation.

“no worries, i better get going. it was really nice talking to you. thank you.” the stunt coordinator said as he walked away.

“tom said he’s going to meet us on set. they’re about to start filming.” you and your dad walked to where tom had told you to go.

“this is really nice. did you see that horse over there? beautiful horse. remember when you didn’t want to ride the horse on set of john wick?” keanu teased. you rolled your eyes playfully and kept walking to the set.

the scene tom would be filming was the opening scene of the whole show. your dad quickly made friends with the producers and director and sat by them when filming began. you watch your boyfriend get into character and deliver his lines perfectly. you didn’t know what it was, but you loved seeing him as billy the kid.

“cut! that was great, tom! we got it!” the director shouted. immediately your dad started applauding as loud as he could.

then tom joined you and your dad. “tom, that was amazing. you did an incredible job.” your dad complimented him.

“thank you, sir. it means a lot that you’re here.” tom replied. he still couldn’t believe keanu freaking reeves watched him act. you two have been together for quite a while so he didn’t have to be so nervous around your dad. but he was and hearing keanu say such kind words to him calmed him down.

“dad was talking about the horse.” you said, pointing to the horse that tom called his.

before you knew it, both of your guys were walking in the direction of the horse.

LUNCH WITH THE FAMILY

it was a nice day out in new york city. before you dad started filming for his new movie, he wanted to have lunch with you, tom and his partner, alexandra. he picked out where you would have lunch and texted you the address. it wasn’t that far from tom’s apartment so you decided to walk.

“what do you think your dad is going to say about this?” tom asked, referring to his recently bleached blonde hair.

“i think he’ll like it. i like it, but i do miss the brown hair.” you admitted. soon enough, you made it to the restaurant. your dad had gotten an outside table so you easily spotted him and alexandra waiting for you and tom.

tom had a hat on so your had hadn’t noticed the blonde hair until tom took it off. alexandra gasped as keanu chuckled. “you look great, man.” he brought tom in for a hug.

“you do look great, tom.” alexandra agreed and stood up from her chair to greet you and tom.

“hi, sweetheart,” keanu said as he hugged you and kissed your cheek. “when are you going blonde?”

“never. i think the only time i ever dyed my hair was when i had a mental breakdown during seventh grade and dyed my hair red.” you said as you sat next to tom.

“she had me up at two am helping her rinse because she didn’t want to get dye on her fingers.” keanu continued.

“you had red hair? i need to see that.” tom chuckled.

eventually the paparazzi found you and they kept some distance, but they still annoyed you. you four took the opportunity to mess with them and posed with peace signs or funny faces. it reminded you of the times when you did the exact same thing years ago with your dad. whenever he took you out to eat, the paparazzi would arrive seconds later taking pictures of you two. keanu suggested making faces at the camera so you did just that. now, you were doing the same thing but with your boyfriend, dad and stepmom.

KEANU REEVES, PROFESSIONAL THIRD WHEEL

“how’s the family?” stephen colbert asked. you dad was a guest and his show and he loved any chance he had to talk about you.

“family is doing really great, thanks for asking. i’ve spending a lot of time with my daughter. her and i are doing lots of activities like pottery, she loves pottery.” he explained.

“that’s great. and do you two always hang out when you’re not busy?” stephen asked.

“yeah, she sometimes has her friends over and i call her and ask if i could come over and then i take her friends and her to dinner or bowling.” he laughed as he remembered all the times he took your friends out so he could also spend time with you.

“i don’t know if you’re aware of this, but twitter has actually named you the professional third wheel because of these photos.” stephen showed keanu and the audience some paparazzi photos of you and tom walking hand in hand down the streets of new york and to the side was your dad with an ice cream cone in his hand.

“oh man, i mean it was going to happen,” keanu said. you and your dad actually had an agreement about what stuff he could share about when it came to being asked about you in interviews. “tom is a great guy, he’s the best.it looks like they’re annoyed with me, but I promise they’re not.” he laughed as another picture was shown of tom talking to him, but he was still holding your hand. whatever it was that tom and your dad were talking about, it seemed really interesting since they weren’t paying attention to you at all.

“oh no,” keanu hid his face in embarrassment. “she looks mad at me, i hope she wasn’t mad.”

“this is my favorite one yet.” stephen added as another picture came on screen.

the picture showed you on your phone walking while your dad and tom walked behind laughing hysterically at something that someone had said.

“are you sure i’m the third wheel?” keanu joked as the audience laughed.

“is tom blyth single?”

the cast of the ballad of songbirds and snakes were doing the wired autocomplete interview and it was tom’s turn to answer questions.

“i am not. i have a beautiful, lovely wonderful girlfriend.” he answered with a smile.

“and his name is keanu reeves!” rachel added followed by josh laughing.

“the pictures don’t lie, tom!”

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

Fate, maybe? || Tom Blyth x actress!reader

Summary: after being each other’s celebrity crush and ending up dating, you both find out that you get the roles you have been auditioning for, as each other’s love interest. Sort’ve a part 2 to ‘And they meet’ go read it!!

Warnings: fem!reader

Wc: 1,192

A/n: yk I had to jump on to this when I found out that Olivia Cooke is gonna be the lead female actor for the new movie Tom is starring in (idk if it’s fully confirmed)

Tangled in each other’s embrace, the movie tangled playing in your living room as you both u mugs of coffee, the sudden ringing of your phone interrupted the moment.

Turning over your phone screen, your agent Lisa's name illuminates the display. Tom looks down at you, concern etched on his face. "Everything okay?" he inquires, and you hum in response, "Just my agent. I'll be back," you say, lifting the phone and rising, already yearning for the comfort of Tom's embrace left behind.

“Hello?” You say, closing the door behind you for some privacy. “Y/n I have great news!” You held your breathe, wondering what it could be. “You got the lead female for that movie you auditioned for a couple months back!” She excitedly squeals.

You lightly furrow your eyebrows, a brief pause betraying the effort to recall the specific movie amidst several recent auditions. Sensing your momentary confusion, Lisa interjects, "Sorry, I should've been more specific," and her chuckle follows, "A Farewell to Arms, remember?"

Your eyes sparkled with delight at the mere mention of the movie. "Oh my god, really?" you exclaimed, your hands instinctively covering your mouth in sheer excitement. "Yes! Congratulations, Y/n! You're going to do amazing in it! I'll email you more details," Lisa conveyed, her voice filled with genuine enthusiasm.

“Thank you! I’ll wait for it,” You stare at yourself in the mirror with a huge smile. When you hand up the phone you start silently squealing, jumping up and down in excitement. You had read the novel and absolutely loved it so when you found out they were making a film adaptation of it, you jumped at the opportunity.

Meanwhile, downstairs in the living room, Tom also received a call from his agent. “Hello?” Tom places the phone to his ear. “Tom! Good morning!” Amanda’s voice rings through the phone. A smile makes it to his lips, “Morning Amanda,” He chuckles.

“I have some news for you! Are you alone right now?” She asks as Tom looks over his shoulder and to the stairs you had just gone up. “Yeah, yeah I’m alone” He says, turning back around.

“You know that audition you did a couple months ago for the movie, a farewell to arms?” Amanda’s voice was one of excitement, “Yeah?” He gulped, “Tom, you did it! You got the lead male role!” The words hung in the air, sinking into Tom’s consciousness.

A grin stretched across his face. Trying to contain his excitement, he thanked his agent and ended the call just as you walk down the stairs, a smile on your face.

"You seem happy," Tom offered his signature smile, and you chuckled in response. "Very," you chimed in a sing-song voice, approaching Tom, who remained seated on the couch. Your arms gracefully wrapped around his neck, and you showered kisses along the side of his face.

You wanted to tell Tom about the role you just got but knew you weren’t allowed to until they officially released the news. So for now, you had to keep a secret from your boyfriend. Same went for Tom, he was dying to tell you about the role he just landed but, he had to wait.

~

You scrambled around the house in search of your scarf. “Babe! Have you seen my scarf?” You call out as Tom rushes to find his shoes. “The black one?” He calls back, tying his shoes. “Yeah!” “They’re on the counter here!” He picks up your scarf just as you come down the stairs.

You gratefully smile at him as he wraps it around your neck, “There, gorgeous,” His hands rest on your shoulder for a bit as he studies you. You lean in to press a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I gotta go, my drivers here,” You sigh as you sling your bag across your shoulder. “I think my driver will be here soon, have a good day today,” He grins, tucking his keys in his pockets.

The two of you were going to be out for the whole day. You were off to do a chemistry test with whoever the lead male was, and Tom was doing the exact same, but for whoever the lead female was. Little did the two of you know that you’d be seeing each other very soon.

You give him a final peck as you go on your tippy toes before leaving the house, getting into the car and driving off. The whole car ride there you were slightly nervous. Your head was swimming with thoughts about who would the male lead be.

Would we get along? Will we have chemistry? What if we don’t? Your thoughts came to a stop when the car came to a halt infront of a building. “Have a good day, Y/n. Hope everything goes well!” Trevor, your driver smiles at you. “Thanks Trevor, I hope so too,” You chuckle opening the car door and stepping out.

You were a couple minutes early but they let you wait inside. Your leg was slightly bouncing as you watch the clock on the wall. The male lead would be here any minute now.

Suddenly, the door opened where a young woman peeked her head out of, “Y/n Y/l/n?” “Yes?” You stand up, grabbing your things. The woman’s eyes look around the room, “Oh, he hasn’t arrived yet. That’s okay, you can start getting ready for chemistry test,” She smiles sweetly at you as you nod, following her.

She hands you a piece of paper with lines from a scene for the movie. As you scanned the words, a voice resonates from outside, "I'm so sorry I'm late! Traffic was horrible," a masculine voice apologizes, prompting you to lift your head toward the door.

It began to open and you swore your heart nearly stopped beating. “Tom?” Your jaw drops open as he freezes. “Y/n?” “What are you doing here?” You both say in sync as you burst out into laughter. Your eyes then move to the young woman who was grinning from to ear.

"I'm here for a chemistry test..." you trail off, and he responds, "Me too." The realization dawns on both of you, and smiles effortlessly spread across your faces. "So, this was the new project you're working on?" Tom chuckles, moving closer as you nod. "Oh my god, what a coincidence," you shake your head in disbelief.

"Who knew we'd be starring in the same movie together as lovers," he chuckled. "Crazy, right?" You smiled at him, and he kissed your cheek. The chemistry test kicked off seamlessly, a testament to the natural connection between you two. Being together made it a breeze, and the rapport you shared translated effortlessly into the scene, setting the tone for an easy journey while fillings

"The casting directors had already chosen you well before they found out that you two were dating," the young woman chuckled, skillfully removing the camera from its stand. A shared smile passed between you and Tom, a subtle acknowledgment of the serendipity that brought you together on and off the screen.

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

Actor Matthew Settle, having personally auditioned with Tom Hanks for a number of leading roles, won the part by delivering steely performances of key scenes. During the casting process, Hanks branded Speirs “a dark character.” Settle unequivocally embraced this categorization as filming commenced in England.

[...]Ron conveyed to Dick. “This TV business is all smoke and mirrors anyway. They can put my nametag on some guy and pretend it is Sparky. They are faking the combat scenes with a stand-in playing Sparky, so why not finish it up that way? I am just not up to the hassle and pressure of an interview. This is not what you want to hear, but I want to be candid about my situation.” Few were more disappointed in Speirs’s decision than Matthew Settle. Many of his fellow actors forged enriching relationships with the veterans they portrayed. Settle was denied this luxury. “It seemed as though he wanted to shy away from the whole process of Band of Brothers,” Settle later noted of Speirs. “He wasn’t quite sure in what light it would leave him.” Because filmmakers lacked Speirs’s direct input regarding his more controversial traits, they “presented the idea to the audience and let them decide whether or not he had killed prisoners and perhaps his own men,” said Settle. “I think that was tastefully done. But perhaps that was why he wasn’t open to being spoken to.”

The absence of Settle’s mysterious character in episode one of Band of Brothers permitted the actor to discover his character in other ways. While the rest of the cast shot the series introduction in England, Settle retraced Speirs’s steps across Europe on an odyssey of his own. He visited France, toured museums, and sought out sites where Speirs had fought. Settle ventured into the Bois Jacques, discovered Easy Company’s foxholes, and was warned to watch out for live ordnance as he did so. At Foy—where Speirs embarked on his iconic run—the actor traversed the wide field and was amazed to see dwellings in town that still bore scars of battle. He ventured all the way to the Eagle’s Nest in Germany. “It made it really come to life for me,” Settle said of the journey. “I’m very happy that I was able to do that.”

Deprived of the ability to converse with Speirs, Settle searched for perspectives on leadership in battle. In addition to reading several Ambrose books, he leaned on Captain Dale Dye—the film’s technical advisor who himself was a decorated combat veteran. “You gotta help me find this guy,” Settle implored to Dye. “Who is he? What’s his tone?” The subsequent coaching greatly benefited his performance: “I had a natural finality that served his character well.” On film, Speirs was stern, direct, and honest. Settle relished interpreting the Speirs mystique—a colorful balance of bravery and secrets. He naturally considers the Speirs scene at Foy his favorite of the miniseries.

[...]A 1,000-person tent was erected on site for a gala and the screening of a ninety-minute compilation of Band of Brothers scenes. Amid all the activities, Matthew Settle finally conversed with his character in the flesh. “When I actually met Speirs, he seemed like he was stoic and quiet and passive,” Settle recalled. “He definitely seemed like a person that may have been hurt once or twice in his life.” The actor’s observations of Speirs during the debut itself were even more affecting. “I sat next to him and Winters as they watched the invasion on screen together,” said Settle. “I honestly just watched the two of them. I couldn’t help myself…. It was powerful. They were reliving it.”

Settle regretted that his interactions with Ron were so fleeting. “I never really got into any deep conversations because Speirs was always very hesitant to talk about anything deeper than just the weather. A lot of the vets would approach him and he would say, ‘Which war?’ I don’t know if he was pretending not to remember them or what.” Speirs’s question was likely an earnest effort to distinguish those who served under him at different stages of his career. Self-consciousness of his hearing loss further precluded him from active conversation.

~ Jared Frederick & Erik Dorr

[tinned-beef]

UMBRELLA ACADEMY S4 EP 1 SPOILERS

the text under the read more has spoilers for the first episode of season 4! it’s a summary of everything i can remember from the premiere. please don’t click if you do not want spoilers!

first scene is gene and jean playing cards with santa baby in the background

they leave the card game to negotiate for two copies of love on loan- one starring allison hargreeves (and tom holland lmao) and the other starring a different actor

gene kills the dealer and they take the copies

luther is a stripper- although a very awkward one. there’s only one lady in the crowd that seems invested

diego is a mailman. he’s tired of his in laws (who are alive in this timeline!), tired of parenting, and even more tired of lila’s lies and secrets

allison is trying to work her way back up into acting. she’s currently stuck doing detergent commercials. she clashes with claire’s teenage attitude

klaus lives in allison’s basement and helps her with claire. he’s been sober for three years

five is investigating the keepers, although the cia wants him to put an end to his search as they deem it unnecessary

ben just got let out of prison (after 3-4 years?) he calls luther to pick him up

viktor gets dumped by his girlfriend and owns a bar. he seems to have a lot of friends there

lila goes to the keeper meetings with the alibi of having a book club

it’s lila and diego’s daughters birthday. her name is grace! she’s turning six

luther brings ben along

five says it’s good to have ben back

allison drops off claire and klaus but refuses to come at first. she has an audition tomorrow and knows nobody will want her there

lila goes out for a breath of fresh air and wrangles allison inside with her

things are very awkward with allison. especially between her and luther

luther tells diego that people would kill to have what he has. he says sloane and him wished for a life like diego’s

luther breaks the piñata and messes up the birthday cake in the process

luther reminds viktor of the party, and while he is reluctant to come he eventually does. however he gets kidnapped before he can enter lol

lila and five run into each other at the keeper (keepers??) meeting and find out gene and jean are waiting for the cleanse. when they ask for clarification they get threatened

lila and five go out for dinner after to talk over their findings. lila swipes at fives face like ‘ugh all you hargreeves boys eat the same.’ diego sees through the restaurant windows. he thinks lila is sneaking out with five during her ‘book club’ meetings

luther takes ben back to where he’s living. it’s the umbrella academy building- now an abandoned home for wayward boys

there’s a message left for him that viktor has been kidnapped

luther calls the family over to rescue viktor

the kidnapper reveals himself as jennifer’s dad. she attended the keeper meetings for years and eventually stopped talking to him. he wants to get her back and gives the siblings the box of umbrella academy artifacts that jennifer had

five agrees after seeing that the box has a jar of marigolds in it

the siblings go out for teppanyaki

they agree to not drink the jar- nobody really wants their powers back

ben swipes the jar

ben tells them to have one last drink for old times sake, his treat. all the siblings drink

it’s revealed that ben put the marigolds in their shots

all in all a really incredible episode! the family bonding is STRONG in this one guys. they’re closer than they’ve ever been. definitely hyped up for the remaining episodes

[elizabethrobertajones]

so after taking like half a year to watch the second doctor, I burned through Pertwee Doctor in what felt like a week. I was fully ready to formally induct him to the hall of favourites somewhere around the top, pending the wikipedia search to check he such wasn't a terrible guy IRL it made it into the personal life section as per the last 2, and -

[refuses to be in a film when a producer won't hire a gay friend]

good start, good start (already liked everything else I read but this is an incredible character merit mark for a guy in the 50s)

[the doctor is literally just him being himself on camera]

Oh, so I just want him to be my friend, I see

[he said the catalyst for leaving was the death of Roger Delgado among other changes in the last year]

Wait WHAT - is that why there was no more Master later on -

[Delgado died on location filming in Turkey, his own wiki page repeats that this was why Pertwee wanted out]

NO NO NO NO NNOOOO

HOW IS THIS HUGE BIT OF DOCTOR WHO HISTORY SOMETHING I NEVER HEARD ABOUT? I GREW UP IN SCI FI CONVENTION SPACES BUT EVERYONE JUST TALKS ABOUT TOM BAKER LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED BEFORE?

WHAT THE FUCK.

I am DISTRAUGHT, the Doctor/Master stuff from the first few seasons of the 3rd Doctor was absolutely INCREDIBLE television. I'd been assuming Delgado maybe had somewhere else to be. Heartily recommend watching that entire run of the show if you don't want to start any earlier.

Well, anyway. :(

I know people don't like the weird James Bond swing it all took with him but the show had been getting more action-y anyway under the 2nd doctor and then a guy who had literally been in the inner circle with all the WWII creatives like Ian Fleming and probably helped INSPIRE James Bond gets the role, I'm feeling like we're blessed and privileged from this perspective of getting to watch it as a historical artefact. I'm assuming based on the vague things I know about the 4th Doctor, the first I'm meeting with any preconceptions, that he's obviously not capable of bringing THAT to the table because that was no ordinary skillset, Pertwee was clearly a top 0.00001% of actors and Guys Who Had Lived A Life, who happened to be doing a silly BBC sci fi show. I'm expecting it to tone back on all these things.

And then in hindsight from the Doctor Who revival era, all the nonsense he brought, aside from the Venusian Karate and flying car and a few other extreme eccentricities, end up being stuff that feels much more modern and like the kind of antics the Doctor gets involved in. Like, he took the sonic screwdriver from being a couple of times joke into a multi-tool with the first joke about it not working on wood after he uses it through many episodes to escape or explode things, all of which is so common nature to the Doctor nowadays.

He also had far more of the casual behaviours we think of as The Doctor now, especially way less circumspect name dropping of historical people and a sense of having lived all around time and space, sometimes for extensive periods of time (he clearly like. LIVED on Venus to pick up all the various throwaway jokes about Venusian culture to explain things he does lmao). Weirdly, despite knowing he was a timetraveller from the jump, the previous two doctors were quite close-lipped about who they knew and had met, and rarely namedropped.

In any case, carrying on into 4th doctor era cautiously because I am 1: sad and 2: deeply let down by my perception of Whovian culture as I've been exposed to it, which sets a ridiculously high bar for Baker as the high watermark of Who and meanwhile I have just bid farewell to watching one of the most electric actors I've ever seen in anything ever while feeling wildly upset on his behalf that there isn't a bonkers appreciative fan culture for everything he did and he's written off as one of the quirky weird early doctors you don't need to bother with.

(AND THERE WAS WRITTEN QUEER DOCTOR MOMENTS. AT LEAST 2-3 OF THEM, GENDER AND SEXUALITY-WISE. HE GOT TALKED TO IN POLARI. ON TV IN 1972. THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT.)

[thefamousbeatricebook]

My Dream, DREAM cast for ACOTAR. (Part 1.)

A little bit of clarification. I know in the book there are race equivalents to the real world (I think) , but this is just FACE and what I'd imagined each guy to look like becuzz.... well you'll see.

ALSO. I realise not all of these Men are the same person- but they're vibes are LEGIT who I imagined when reading.

FIRST UP, TAMLIN :

(Malcom lindberg)

(Tom Heukels)

(I actually don't know the name of this guy- but if you do~)

TARQUIN💗 (I stopped searching for names unless the pinterest pic had it. I got sick of surfing through images btw) :

(If they don't cast Mukasa kakonge I'm leaving.)

(BITCH. THIS IS TARQUIN. THIS. IS. TARQUIN. STOP LYING. SOMEONE CONTACT S.J.M. THIS WHOLE CAST IS GOING TO BE MODELS. I'M TALKING TEEN WOLF LEVEL OF MODEL CASTING. NO JOKE. MUKASA KAKONGE.)

( @w3tte, "A smile I could fall in love with!)

(This, but with white braids. Like someone contact the casting director, because bitch I FOUND HIM.)

(His hair is always tied up like this, and no one can convince me otherwise. The fan-arts did this to me.)

Helion (In my mind.. he's always looked like one of these two men. Def darker than the 2nd pic though. I always imagined him as Persian, or Arabian- maybe even Spanish or portuguese? I'm not sure if S.J.M did it strictly though.) :

This. This is who he is.

The jawline, the facial hair- the muscles.. spot on. I hope S.J.M really does deliver with that high lord inclusivity.

I know Pedro probably, okay maybe def- wouldn't play Helion. But this is Helion incarnate. I can just see this Man propositioning for a three-way with Azriel, Cassian and Mor, bitch.

Thesan :

(Does he even need introduction? Paing takhon. Thesan's always, always been Asian in my mind. I think it's canon AND accepted too so. )

(At this point. I want him to be RHYS in my imaginary movie with my imaginary dream actoar cast just so he gets more screen time...*In my head)

(uGH. I can't decide. Adarsh Jaikarran.)

( Pratik Shetty. This in golden clothes.

LUCIEN (I'M GOING TO GET DEATH THREATS. YES, Booboo NATIVE AMERICAN. I KNOW, BUT YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT THIS IS NOT THE FACE OF LUCIEN VANSERRA EVERYBODY- THE SMIRK, THE LIPS, THE EYES>... And would it be so bad to cast a Native american actor as Lucien? or even have Beron be Native American? I don't think it would be. ) :

(Booboo stewart. He's the one I want, oh so badly. I can see this the first time him and Feyre go riding. )

(I'll fight to the grave. Bitch. I will. "If I give you the moon on a string, will you give me a kiss too?")

(This man. Snarling at Tamlin, leaving the doors wide open for Feyre to hear "For a guy with a heart of stone-", YES.)

Okay. So, Mr Stewart is perfect yes. But this is a dream cast, no? and who did I imagine the first time I picked up the book? (disclaimer: Who's smirk was I talking about in the disclaimer? A name bitch. That name's Billy wirth.

whoopsy,

this is not billy worth! I totally didn't check the sources close enough for the photos which held misinformation, this is actually Nuno Bettencourt, who is Portuguese!

This. This was, and is, what I imagined Lucien vanserra to always, always be.

Don't tell me you disagree.

Imagine, the mask- the hair. Red and gold. The russet eye. If the Harry potter fan-casts could make Ben barnes, who's almost FIFTY into sirius black...Billy wirth Nuno Bettencourt is MY lucien.

I'll be making a second post for who's next, bitches. Part 1.

Wait till I hunt down Azriel's fancast.

[fromtheboundlesssea]

HotD Season 2 Episode 5 Live Watch Thoughts

I feel like if we find out parts of this season was written by AI, I would not be surprised.

Lannister soldiers I can use for edits later. ✌🏻

Ooooo LIONS

Are those men from Tarth?

The actor does a decent job of mimicking season 1 Jaime’s slight tone.

Love how we have Aegon actively seeking and even listening to Alicent’s advice while Aegon instantly silences and ignores her.

“Your father knew this” the man IGNORED them until YOU asked him to, Alicent.

“As you well know.” Yeah, Aemond, why didn’t you stop that.

Aemond, Criston is the only person there to have actually fought Daemon, and actually win.

I like that her children still refer to her as “mother” even in public.

I like that we are blocked from Aemond’s emotion when he is in side profile with the eyepatch.

I wish we had Aemond actually feeling bad about Jaehaerys, because we got nothing of that in the show.

I personally feel they have been avenged and he still does not feel like he has enough to the point where he does not mourn his trueborn nephew.

Are we going to have Corlys call Rhaenyra out like he does in the book? Apparently not he put on the pin.

Did the actor who played Corlys loose weight or are his clothes less bulky?

Here is Lord Commander Westerling? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have Rhaenyra lean on him rather than this random Kingsguard that has only really shown up as a major-ish character this season.

Are they making up Targaryen offspring? Making up a Targaryen princess? Would this man’s grandmother’s grandmother have even been a princess? They weren’t crowned, what, six generations ago?

Honestly, the Dragonseed stuff was risky anyway, but they are making it sound truly stupid.

Onto Daemon’s A24 movie? Will we see Rhea? Anyone want to bet?

Oh? He’s going to see Viserys?

“You can’t possibly still be angry about this.” HIS SON DIED AND HE HAD MURDERED HIS WIFE! MY DUDE?!?!?!?

Vague Rhea mention at least?

And don’t what? Name Rhaenyra heir or send you away?

Saving Hodor flashbacks tbh

Daemon is truly losing it.

And why is he not blaming Alys? Who is arguably the weirdest person in the keep besides him?

And Simon Strong is so freaking chill.

Is Daemon leaving? Oh? Oh?

Ah. The weirwood tree.

Alys is the most consistently written character and it is so ridiculous.

“She never even wanted it.” She didn’t care to learn either.

“Viserys never wanted it himself” really? He could have thrown his lot with Rhaenys then and not set his claim forward.

Also, not gonna lie, I have never pronounced Alys as *Alice* in my head.

So dragon singing or something is a thing? Why can’t we hear Tom sing in the show? He has a band doesn’t he?

Also, we never knew why Daemon was doing what he was doing last season when he was singing?

Are they going to make up Dragonseed like they did Targaryen family members?

Also, why isn’t the woman dragonkeeper bald too? Wouldn’t bring bald be wise or did Ryan & Co also not like the idea of bald women.

Seasmoke is gorgeous btw.

Ah, so she lost a very loyal Kingsguard for this. Great. I would have ended the search for Dragonseed there tbh. It’s not wise to lose allies.

Corlys, did you ever think that perhaps your bastard kid you have ignored for years would be happy to serve beside you? Wow. You’re as bad as Viserys when it comes to thinking your kids you’ve ignored would be happy to follow your orders.

Addam is so freaking fine.

And Dyanna. Someone theorized that’s where we get Gaemon Palehair with the brothel woman.

Feasts? Ah. It’s the stupid rumors. Love that the woman turned so quickly on Aemond.

“Never while our smallfolk went without.” Ummmmm. He had a whole hunt when there was the possibility of invasion.

Oh? So you want to be feared Rhaenyra? Where was this after your son died? Where was this when you had a chance to take Alicent?

The characterization is so slow.

MEN? Did more happen?

Is the riot when Rhaenyra has King’s Landing? Or was that Green propaganda?

“This becomes you.”

Darksister was a woman’s sword and would work better for a woman.

Why are we getting more Hugh and his family getting all this characterization when you can have Nettles or even give Addam more characterization. You know, someone who was actually loyal to their precious Rhaenyra even when SHE turned on them.

And who cares about the Gullet? Have the Lannisters bring in food from the Reach? Do Ryan & Co not realize the Hightowers are in the Reach?

AEGON WAKES!

I love how relieved Orwyl is about Aegon.

UGH. I DON’T LIKE BODY HORROR STUFF.

Tom still good looking despite the scars.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have Helaena or Alicent to step in?

And F you Aemond. His characterization is becoming so cartoonish and 1-dimensional.

RHAENA

*sigh* so they will replace nettles. Can’t they just have it be Morning instead?

And that baby dragon’s CGI blending into the real background is not great.

And Rhaena holding a dragon toy 😭

That shot of Rhaena is beautiful.

Is Jeyne Arryn actually going to have more to do? Can’t she teach Rhaena about being a lady of a grand keep?

Will they have Rhaena be at fault for Aegon and Viserys being lost?

And so Alyn dies/cuts his hair?

How ironic that Alyn will become lord eventually.

I really do wish Addam had silver hair.

Also, couldn’t people assume they are another Velaryon’s bastards?

Only half-way done and I am still bored.

“I am tired of being protected.” And what about your protection of your son?

*sigh* are they going to allow Helaena to fight too?

Will Rhaenyra still be sorry that Alicent and Helaena were caught in the crosshairs this time when she is the one to do it or no?

Oh, so they are going to have Rhaenyra sending aide to King’s Landing 🙄 Will they turn on her faster when she can’t give them food anymore and SHE is the one to throw lavish parties, or is that going to be Green propaganda as well. Meaning it will be propaganda the Blacks used on the Greens as an uno reverse?

And Alicent sitting beside Aegon. 🥲

“What will he be if he lives?” Alive?

So they do remember the Reach.

Maester Orwyle is the VIP.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” 🥲

Love the hair up look!

Lol Gwayne clocks it. Lol

“You were always his favorite.” Interesting.

Daeron mentioned!

I love the mix of joy and sadness in Alicent’s eyes when she hears about Daeron 😭

Gwayne telling Alicent she did her best! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Not denying her faults, but not blaming her entirely. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

And Criston waiting to leave until she acknowledges him.

Helaena!!!!

The stupid dog 🙄

Also???? I thought the gates would have been closed to the water? Why couldn’t people have left through the water then?

HOW ARE WE STILL AT 26 MINUTES LEFT?!?!?

“The Queens” 🥲

You just got food. And now you’re flinging it.

Oh? Alicent had a cut like Rhaenyra now?

And Larys denying Aegon his pain meds.

I really do wish that Larys wasn’t so obviously a bad guy because this conversation could be viewed as more genuine.

So was Alys blamed for Larys?

Goodwill version of the Tyrion/Jon conversation in season 1 of GoT 😒

So they could get Aemma’s actress back for this?

Honestly, this whole thing feels like an Anime arc where Daemon gets a redemption. Or Daemon going through the Bad Place to get to the Good Place.

Did Alys kill Glover?

I guess so.

Again, instead of Hugh and the other Dragonseed, I would have preferred to spend time focusing on Alyn.

Also hate they didn’t just kill Laenor in season 1. It would have added to Rhaenyra’s character tbh and would have given her an interesting dynamic between herself and her elder 3 children.

He questions them because Daemon is the only one seemingly doing anything after HIS BROTHER WAS MURDERED.

I heard rumors that Mysaria and Rhaenyra would have a romantic plot line and I hope the heck not. Because imagine getting together with the girl whose lookalikes you gave to Daemon to bed.

I think Mysaria is being honest or deceitful to gain Rhaenyra’s favor, which does not do well for the writers because she truly is not a well written character. She is just there and does not actually have any impact unless the story needs it.

My eyes are ROLLING in the back of my head.

Rhaenyra, a woman just told you about her sexual trauma and you start making it sexual.

This is because fans were pissed about Missandei not taking over the bedfellow role of D I am sure of it. And I absolutely hate it. It makes it seem like Rhaenyra is incapable of having adult relationships unless they are parental or sexual/romantic. 🙄

This was, once more a bad episode.

Promo Thoughts

So Jace is changing his opinion now?

Again. The show is just… bad.

[whatstruthgottodowithit]

Hello!! Ok, Oh my I just have to say that I absolutely adore!!!!! your blog like OH MY!! The Elvis Presley stuff is like just Wow. And I was just wandering if your taking requests if I could request something if not please don't worry, you can just skip past this message!! So, I am in need of some Elvis X Reader comfort and was wandering if you could write a fic where reader get's into a car accident (Dark I know, and I understand if your not comfortable!!) What if it's nearing Elvis's birthday (can be whatever era you choose!) and you are picking him up a gift but as your driving to the place you get run off the road by another car. Now your not badly injured or anything but your in shock. Anyway, your cars pretty busted and things and because it's winter it's absolutely freezing and for some reason you didn't bring a thick enough coat just assuming you'd be in and out of the shop. Anyway, so you walk a long while in the cold searching for a house to call Elvis or someone. Eventually you find a payphone and quickly call Graceland. Can be anyone who picks up. Anyway someone does and inform Elvis and he's absolutely freaking out. He's worried, and annoyed that you didn't tell him where you were going (because he's protective.) so eventually they pick you up and he hugs you tightly trying to keep you warm from the cold that's now affecting you badly, and also wanting to make sure that your really there. Anyway once you get home he's all like caring, and overprotective over you and you end up crying because of what happened and also because you couldn't get his gift. He tells you not to worry about it, and it's just all cute and comforting?

I know this is long, and please look past it if you don't want to do it, no problems!! Just thought you'd be great to ask but no problems either way!!

Xx💗💗💗💗

The Art of Gift Giving

Fandom: Elvis Presley, RPF, American Actor

Pairing: Elvis Presley x Reader

Characters: Elvis Presley, Joe Esposito, Reader, Colonel Tom Parker

Word Count: 2110

Rating: Mature

Summary: What happens when the man who has everything gets more than he bargained for?

Tags/Warnings: Injury, Harm, Angst, Fluff, Established Relationship, Birthdays, Elvis’ Birthday, Car Accidents, Car Crash, Hugging, Protective, Forehead Kisses, Cheek Kisses, Birthday Party

Notes: Here you go lovely! Sorry it took so long x

Elvis Tags: @literally-just-elvis-fics @caitlin1996 @notstefaniepresley @elvispresleywife

Today was not my day. And to be honest I didn't even know how it had come to this. I was usually organised, well enough not to forget my boyfriend's birthday but my organisational skills seemed to be no match for Elvis Presley Enterprises. It wasn’t that I couldn't arrange something, it's just that his schedule had not given me much of a chance. He had been away for the past few days touring and was due to leave again the day after his birthday meaning that the time we got to spend together was limited, a fact neither of us was fond of. So, he had clung to me - desperate to soak up the time we had together before he had to go away again. It was nice don't get me wrong but it also left me with no time to sneak out and buy him something. Not to mention he wasn't exactly easy to buy for. An excellent gift giver? Sure. But what do you buy the man who wants for nothing?

So yesterday morning I scoured the copious catalogues around the house and found the most flashy and ornate hand-crafted guitar. A perfect gift. The only problem was I had no time to collect it. That was when the Colonel had intervened. He had suggested Elvis have a birthday party. Nothing too extravagant but something with enough newsworthy material to keep the momentum of the tour going. He didn't want it to appear that Elvis was desperate to get home and ungrateful for the people who were coming out to see him after his small break. I knew it wasn't the best idea, hell Elvis probably just wanted a nice evening at home, but it did give me a chance to get out of the house unnoticed. Whilst Elvis was fussing over what he was going to wear and everyone else was flapping about preparing for the guests I had called the store and made sure my gift was ready and waiting for me. Then I snuck out hoping no one would notice me being gone for twenty minutes.

But I had been too optimistic and as soon as I was out of the house I hit rush hour traffic, unable to escape bottleneck after bottleneck as I made my way slowly through Memphis unable to turn back. My luck didn't change once I got to the store either. Though it wasn't busy it may as well have been. My reserved parcel was unable to be located though I was sure it was something to do with the snotty look the shop girl had given me after she had asked about Elvis and I had declined to comment. All in all, I was forced to stand and wait for them to find it for forty-five minutes until finally, they found the present tucked away exactly where it was supposed to be. Though anger was flowing through my body I didn't stop to complain, I didn't have time, instead, I left quickly and quietly racing back to the car and climbing inside thanking my lucky stars that though it was icy the roads were now clear for my trip home.

I don't remember much of the drive. I remember the way the clock was ticking away on the dash, tormenting me about my lateness. I remember the feeling of guilt as I thought about Elvis, who was sure to have noticed my absence by now. And I remember the squeal of the tires as they hit the ice and tried to scramble for traction as I spun myself away from the oncoming truck as it swerved out of a side street and into my path. From then on it was a blur.

I don’t remember how I managed to haul myself out of the totalled car or how long I walked until I finally found a payphone. I don’t even remember who I spoke to at Graceland or what I told them had happened. All I could focus on was the ache in my body from being jolted around and the cold that had seeped into my bones from the walk.

I only really came to as I noticed a pair of headlights growing ever closer though they didn’t pass like the other cars had, instead, they slowed down in front of the bus stop I had taken to waiting for my ride. Before I could even look who had come to collect me the door was being flung open and Elvis appeared, moving frantically towards me until he was wrapped around every inch of me. His strong musky scent filled my nostrils as the warmth of his body shrouded me trying to force the ice from my bones as fast as he could. When he pulled back his eyes were wide and frantic searching for any evidence of injury or harm but there was none. None that could be seen anyway. Then his eyes went hard and his jaw clenched as he realised I was relatively okay.

‘What the hell are you playing at?!’ he said angrily.

‘What?’ I asked, my brain was unable to process his words or what I had done to receive this reaction.

‘You disappear and then you call saying you’ve crashed your car!? I thought-’ he said his breath hitching in his chest as I realised what he must’ve been thinking. I don’t remember what I said. If I had explained myself or just given the bare minimum and from the look on his face I suspected the latter.

‘I’m sorry,’ I mumbled unsure of where to even start. Fortunately, Joe appeared at his side, pressing a reassuring hand on Elvis’ shoulder which seemed to snap him back to reality.

‘I think we should probably get her in the car, don’t you boss?’ Joe said. Elvis’ cold stare softened as he looked back down at me and then nodded.

I didn’t protest as he shepherded me to the open car door and gestured for me to climb inside. I shuffled across to make room for him and he followed suit, tucking himself into the car and pulling me into him. His arms wrapped around me tighter than ever before. Joe put the car in drive and set off, tapping along to the radio as we drove back home. No one spoke. It felt like all of us were waiting for the other to make the first mood and yet no one did. And though I was tucked in beside him it didn’t feel like he was holding me. It felt as though he was clinging to me, his gaze periodically dropping downwards as if he had to make sure I was still there.

It didn’t take us long to get home. In fact, it appeared that I had walked for longer than I thought as we were barely a ten-minute drive away from the house. When we pulled up the party was still in full swing, unbothered by Elvis’ absence though I figured it was more that people didn’t know he was gone. My suspicions were confirmed as we snuck in the back way with Joe scuttling away to deal with the fallout of Elvis leaving his own party early.

He led me upstairs, decanting me on the bed as he moved around the room. I didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing as the car ride had made my bones stiffen up. I could hear him rummaging around in our closet and then the sound of water running from the bathroom. When he reappeared he dropped a handful of clothes, which I recognised to be my pyjamas, on the bed beside me and then took to his knees in front of me. It was enough to pull me out of my thoughts as his large hands cupped mine, his warm blue eyes watching me worriedly.

‘I, uh, I’m running you a bath,’ he said, ‘you still feel pretty cold.’

‘I am,’ I mumbled, ‘guess I didn’t realise how long I’d been out.’

‘Right, yeah,’ he said. I could see the thoughts swirling around in his mind and I could tell he was too nervous to utter any of them given his initial reaction.

‘I’m okay you know,’ I said moving my hand to stroke his cheek tenderly.

‘Are you sure? I mean what if we should be going to the hospital,’ Elvis asked.

‘Honestly, I’m fine,’ I said, ‘I’m just I’m cold and achy…I mean I think the car fared worse. It’s totalled.’

‘I thought you said it wasn’t that bad,’ he said a slight rise in his voice as I tried to scramble for an excuse. My struggle for words didn’t seem to help my case as he went to stand up, ‘right we’re going to the hospital.’

‘I’m fine! I mean the car bore the brunt of it I’m sure,’ I said pulling on his arm. He didn’t look convinced but after a moment he relented and came to sit beside me on the bed. He watched me for a moment as I placed my hand on his thigh and caressed it gently trying to reassure him as much as I could. Then after a moment he finally murmured, ‘what happened?’

‘I don’t know,’ I mumbled watching as his face flew into a panic, ‘I mean I’m fine but I don’t know what happened.’

‘They said you said a truck,’ he said thickly.

‘I swerved…but I ended up off the road,’ I said.

‘Oh honey,’ he said.

‘Like I said, the car took the worst of it.  I was just jumbled around a little. I mean I bet your, oh my god!’ I said startling him.

‘What?!’ he said.

‘Your present! It was in the back of the car! I totally forgot! I bet it’s ruined or goddamn stolen by now or something! Oh my god, what an idiot!’ I said. Elvis watched me for a moment and then burst out laughing, clutching his chest as he did. My brows knitted together as I took in his mirth suddenly feeling overwhelmed. I didn’t know why he was laughing. I didn’t know what I’d done but the emotion of it all was too much to bear and I felt myself crying. His laughter quickly faded as he noted the tears streaming down my face.

‘Honey what's wrong?!’ he asked in a panic.

‘You’re laughing,’ I hiccupped.

‘Oh honey I wasn’t laughing at you,’ Elvis said pulling me into him and stroking my hair as I tried to corral my sobs into line, ‘I was just laughing at the fact that of all the things for you to be worried about tonight you’re bothered about a gift for me.’

‘It’s w-why I went o-o-out in the f-f-first place,’ I sniffed, my breath still shaky, ‘wanted to surprise y-y-you.’

‘Well you sure did that Satnin,’ he said with a wry smile.

‘But you didn’t get your gift,’ I said pulling back.

‘You’re safe,’ he said with a smile, ‘that’s gift enough.’

‘Maybe you can have one of the boys go and get it,’ I said. My tears had subsided leaving a cold residue on my cheeks. I knew it was silly. I knew that my safety was more important than any stupid present I could buy him and yet I still wanted him to have it. For my horrendous day to have at least meant something.

‘Yeah, I’ll ask,’ he said wiping my tears from my cheeks as he pulled me up off of the bed, ‘but first, how about that bath?'

‘Okay,’ I said as he led me towards the bathroom. As we breached the doors I heard a laugh echo from below which made me snap back to reality. I stopped in my tracks which tugged on his arm and forced him to turn around and look at me with a puzzled look on his face.

‘What about your party?’ I asked. His puzzled look faded, replaced by a small smirk as he pulled me into him and kissed my forehead.

‘You’re the only one I wanted there anyway,’ he said.  He pulled away and started busying himself with the bath which was nearly flooding the bathroom by now. I moved to perch on the toilet seat as he dealt with everything. As I watched him I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter. He always knew what to do. How to take care of me. It was his birthday and yet he was the best gift I could ask for.

I had been right before. Today wasn’t my day but there's nowhere I'd rather end up.

[fan-goddess]

Hello. What made you become a Ewan Mitchell fan? I first saw him in "World on fire". I was so impressed with his acting and was excited that he got cast in HOTD.

Its funny that both he and Tom who they play brothers in the series had roles where they played the sons of former GOT cast members. Ewan in "World on fire" with Sean Bean, and Tom with Mark Ryland in "Dunkirk".

Is there any role that you would like to imagine that Ewan would be cast in? Personally I think he would be wonderful in any Shakespeare comedies. I know that Ewan does a lot of dramatic roles but I think it would be cool seeing him something less serious. He does have a great sense of humor and he is so talented as an actor that he can do both.

I hope that you are having a awesome week.

😊

Oh my goodness i was meant to answer this but it completely split my mind I am so sorry! Still, to answer you question!

I first got introduced officially to ewan in HOTD, but admittedly favoured Aegon and sort of ignored Aemond in favour of his brother 😅. Only it was when i began reading fanfics and seeing how people wrote on Ewans performance i began to truly admire him and his acting for what it was. That lead me to further research on his other works and to realise I had actually seen Ewan on trigger point when it was shown on gogglebox ages ago! It was such a strange coincidence realising I remembered the scenes I was watching.

In regards to Tom and Ewan playing sons of former GOT cast members, i must say it truly seems that no matter where you are everything is always connected! I must say i had to search who Mark Ryland is cause I've not seen GOT or Dunkirk yet but realised i have seen him in plenty of things! He's such a good actor!

Fun fact about myself, i sometimes write little scripts for film ideas i make up sometimes, and you best believe I've cast Ewan and Tom in quite a few of these roles haha. Though if i had to cast Ewan in something it'd definitely be a horror film or some sort of vampiric character. I feel he could play either a final guy or a villain perfectly. Though i must confess as much as i adore seeing him play the bad guy, i would love to see him playing some romantic lead in a romance film. I think that would heal me honestly 🩷

Though i adore that idea of him playing in shakespeare! What play would you have him be in out of curiosity? Or even a movie adaptation of a play, whichever you're more interested in. I completely agree though he does have this casually funny personality that would be great to see on screen. We love the big bad brood, but we also love the giggling guy we know he can be!

Thank you very much for this ask it has honestly cheered me and my week up! Even though it's almost taken me a week to even respond... sending lots of love your way sweet anon!!! 🩷🩷🩷

[archiveoftara]

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

Hi guys, I came up with this idea few nights ago. The reader is heir of Tom Rotwell. Reader is filthy rich, spoiled brat who has a massive crush on Lockwood. Reader is jealous of Lucy. I initially thought to write only about Lockwood but I might turn this into George fanfic. Please let me know if I should continue or not. Do let me know in the comments

It's your birthday. You're standing on the balcony, looking at the moon shining above you. You look ethereal in your Swarovski studded gown, it enhances your curves giving both elegance and luxury.

You are Y/n Rotwell, successor of Tom Rotwell. Someone who's born and raised in luxury, you thought money is the solution to everything.

You got everything in this world but you still felt lonely. You craved love. To fill the void inside your heart you threw massive parties, shopping sprees, of course with your daddy's credit card. You thought that's life, until you met someone who swooned you from your feet.

You saw this man in the 50th Fittes ball. The infamous Anthony Lockwood but God he's so hot, totally your type. It was love at first sight.

I want him. You thought.

You did some digging and found everything about this mysterious man. You stalked see him wherever he went. You made it oh so subtle. 

The boy has a small agency. He has two employees, a nerd and a scruffy girl. Not someone you would like to be friends with. Your Target was to get Anthony Lockwood. By hook or by crook.

But there is one problem, he's always with this scruffy girl..what's the name?...hmm yeah Lucy.

What does he even see in her?

I mean looked at you, you got the looks, the money, intelligence. You got everything that can make any guy fall for you….right?

Then why isn't Anthony falling for you. What's his price? Fame? Money? Sex?

You were deep in your thoughts when you heard a knock.

"Ma'am it's time." Your bodyguard said.

You sighed. Honestly, you wanted to be alone tonight but you didn't have a choice as your parents arranged this party. You weren't in the mood to listen to any of their lectures about gratitude and upbringing.

The moment you set foot in the room, all the eyes fell on you. You love the attention. With a smirk on your face, you went up to your friends. You grooved a little to music, having small talks with your so-called friends. They're rich kids just like you. Born with a golden spoon in their mouth. You know they're not your real friends. Everyone cares about your money anyway.

You looked around the room, searching for those brown eyes which made you fall so hard in love.

There he is. In a black suit, hair styled like a 50s actor. He looks gorgeous. You smiled to yourself but it faltered when you saw him holding someone's hand. Ugh Lucy. You practically gagged.

Lockwood approached you with a smile. "Thank you for having us Ms. Rottwell. It's truly a pleasure" he warmly shook your hand. You blushed.

"No, it's my pleasure having you with us. Enjoy the party." You gave your best fake smile to the couple. It hurts to see him with her. How you wish it was you in his arms instead of her.

After attending a few guests, Your parents had an announcement to make.

"We are so pleased to share this news with you. Today, our little y/n has turned into a fine lady. I'm so proud of her." Your mother said. "We have a surprise for you all, Our daughter Ms. Y/n Rotwell is getting engaged to Mr. Henry Fittes, successor of the great Marissa Fittes."

Your jaw practically dropped on the floor. You couldn't believe your ears for a moment. You excused yourself and went to the garden.

You found Lockwood outside looking at the moon. You put on your best smile and said hi.

"What are you doing here Mr. Lockwood?"

"Just waiting for Lucy and George."

You were so busy killing Lucy with your eyes that you didn't even notice George standing right beside them.

"Congratulations on your engagement Ms. Rottwell"

Your mood turned sour. "What is your price Anthony?" You surprised yourself with the sudden burst of confidence.

"Excuse me?"

"What do you want? How can I get you? How can I make you love me?"

Lockwood looked at you as if you're crazy.

"Everyone has a price. What's yours?"

"You're crossing your limit."

You ignored him "Why don't you look at me the way you look at her? What does she have that I don't have? You yelled.

"She's not obnoxious like you. You got the money but you're heartless. She's kind, beautiful, brave. She has decency unlike you. I'm sorry. I don't like you, Ms. Rottwell. I only like Lucy, in fact I love lucy. "

In fact, I love lucy

I love lucy

Those three letters were enough to tore you to pieces.

Anthony left you standing in the cold garden.

Everyone you love eventually leaves you. What's so new about it y/n?

You were called on the stage. Your parents asked you to sing a song, showcase you like an expensive piece of jewellery sitting in a box, ready to be sold.

You took the stage and sang your heart out.

"Why was he holding her hand

when he's supposed to be mine?"

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to,

Cry if I want to. Cry if I want to

You would cry too, if it happened to you"~

You glared at the couple. You could see how Lockwood held Lucy's waist, so delicate with his touch. How he smiled to her like he owns the world.

"Judy and Johnny just walked through the door

Like a queen with her king

Oh, what a birthday surprise

Judy's wearing his ring"~

You got tears in your eyes but you hid it so well. Nobody could see the vulnerable girl who just want to be loved..only and only by him.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s3 ep23: Distant Origin

The dinosaur episode. I will never be able to think of this one as anything but the dinosaur episode. I like the message it was trying to get across about how adhering to strict religious or cultural dogma impedes the search for scientific truth, but I can't get past the whole 'dinosaurs went to space' thing, no matter how hard I try.

It's not like the premise of dinosaurs evolving into a sentient humanoid species hasn't been done before on sci-fi shows, since Doctor Who did it way back in 1970 with the Silurians. But Doctor Who always had more of a fantasy bent than Star Trek, which for the most part, tries to stick to things that at least seem more like real science. I'm more willing to go with dinosaur people on Doctor Who, where they don't seem so silly next to the Doctor, who's basically an immortal alien wizard who swans around wearing velvet capes. Next to a more mundane, human Starfleet crew, the talking dinosaur people feel a little ridiculous.

Maybe the makeup is part of it- it's not bad, by any means, in fact it's extremely well sculpted and colored, and holds up in close ups, but it's just so clunky and overwhelming- it feels like guys in dinosaur costumes. The dinosaur hands, which are a nice detail from a design standpoint, also just look like clunky mittens when actually worn by the actors. None of the actors are bad, they're all playing it straight and doing a good job, but somehow I just could not suspend my disbelief for this one. (Also, having seen 'Doctor Who and the Silurians', I'm rooting for the dinosaur people to never figure out they came from Earth tbh! The last thing Earth needs is a more technologically advanced race of dinosaurs coming to wipe out humans and take the planet for themselves!)

I felt like there was too much of the dinosaurs, as well- not only was the teaser a scene with them, the first segment afterward was also them, with no scenes on Voyager till after the second commercial break, and I didn't feel like they were interesting enough to sacrifice all that time to, when we could have had a story about the actual Voyager crew instead. The premise of these dinosaur aliens trying to find Voyager to prove they're distantly related is an decent one, but idk, I feel like it could have been structured better.

(Side note: there's a really great shot of the whole bridge from above, where you can see the four different levels of the floor- the upper part with tactical and operations stations, the middle platform with captain's and first officer's chairs, the lower side level with science and engineering stations on each side, and an even lower pit level down front where the helm is. You can also clearly see the track in the floor that Tom's chair is attached to, but I have definitely seen regular rolling chairs with spokes and wheels both there and at other stations on the ship- I think they must switch it out, depending on the needs of specific scenes in each episode. But I'm going to consider the anchored track chair the in-universe canon version.)

And one thing that nagged at me the whole time- who's skeleton was it that the dinosaur scientists found?! It was a former Maquis yellowshirt who died on a planet where his remains were unrecovered within the last year, so unless there was an unamed crewman who died offscreen, it has to be Hogan. That's so awful!! He got eaten by a giant worm that spit out his skeleton, which some space dinosaurs found, and now they're just gonna like, keep his bones in storage somewhere?! Omg that's just like, sad! I'm not religious or anything myself, but a lot of people place importance on giving their loved ones remains a proper burial, and I feel like that's so weird and creepy and disrespectful that this dinosaur scientist found the actual people who knew the guy who's bones he's been studying, and at no point did he say to Chakotay, 'hey, I'm sorry for the loss of your shipmate, do you want to take his remains back to his family?' It's just so macabre! I guess a lot of scientists are detached about the things they study, but yikes!! RIP Hogan, I hope your bones do some good in some dinosaur musem, and educate them about their distant Earth origins one day when they decide to stop being jerks about it.)

I wish I could do a proper breakdown of the story, but I'm just stuck on the talking dinosaur people, sorry. Aside from a cute little scene of Tom and B'Elanna flirting in engineering, I didn't find much of anything fun in this one.

Tl;dr: While I respect the attempt to do something different, this story just feels too far fetched to really be effective. I was too distracted by the silliness of the dinosaur makeup and the idea of space faring dinosaurs to take any of it seriously.

[3fluffies]

A Review: Damsel

Readers, ye be warned, HERE BE MAJOR SPOILERS!

I got interested from the trailers on Facebook. Right up my alley, a genre medieval fantasy film with dragons, arranged marriages, lush sets, and a very unsubtle grrrl power message. I've never seen Brown in Stranger Things (a crime for sci-fi/fantasy fans, I know, I'll get around to it) but in a few smaller roles. The whole cast was a Who's Who list: Angela Bassett, Robin Wright, and Ray Winstone.

The movie obviously had a big budget, an all-star cast, and a good concept. It looked promising.

It was...mediocre. Very. My overall reaction was disappointment.

Brown was very good. There were great performances by all of the cast considering I've seen most of the stars in at least two other notable roles, but thought of them as these characters (as opposed to actors like Tom Cruise, who I always view as Tom Cruise no matter who he plays, same with Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt).

But they had so little to work with.

This movie had good bones. The concept was all there for an epic, or at least a strong batch of characters and world-building. No, it was in no way an earth-shatteringly ground-breaking NEW idea. The concept is fairly formulaic. Maybe it's just me, but I don't care - give me a formulaic but well-written story over CREATIVE for the sake of it any day. (Okay, my example of this is one of my favorite films, The Chronicles of Riddick, so a connoisseur I cannot call myself. But you get the idea.)

But I came away from the film unsatisfied, because there was just so little meat on those bones. We know Brown's Elodie comes from a northern (kingdom? principality? fife?) with a harsh climate and grinding poverty where she does physical work to help serve her starving people. She had a mother (they always have dead mothers) whose memory she invokes at times, but a semi-affectionate relationship with her stepmother, Bassett's Lady Bayford. She has a younger sister she mutually adores and a noble, devoted father who also takes his duties to his people seriously.

But we don't know a damn thing about their fifedom except that all the trees have been cut for firewood, people are dining at Ye Olde Breadline, and the situation is so desperate as winter approach that Lord Bayford reluctantly sells his beloved daughter to be a human sacrifice disguised as a marriage. This universe has bride prices instead of dowries.

In the kingdom of Aurea, Wright's Queen Isabelle is suitably intimidating, manipulative, and morally bankrupt, King whateverthehellhisnameis never speaks, Prince Henry expresses some dismay over the fates of his bride(s) but goes along with it. We learn Elodie's is the second in a series of three ancient ceremonies - Aurea's first king sacrificed his three daughters for peace with the dragon and each subsequent generation must sacrifice three more women of royal blood.

Instead, Prince gets three hasty weddings in a row with some random foreign lady, a handshake with cut palms to make each bride's blood royal, chuck the bride into the chasm above the dragon's cave, debt paid. The dragon likes to play with her food, and Elodie has the wits to survive thanks to a head for maps and mazes (one of the only semi-developed character traits we got on her).

Lord Bayford leads a few searchers into the caves to rescue her, in a predictable attack of conscience, and also predictably gets dead after shouting for Elodie not to come to him and save herself when he's at the dragon's mercy. So she forgives him, but also develops sympathy for the dragon, whose three offspring were killed without provocation when the ancient king of Aurea invaded the dragon's lair. Someone on Lord Bayford's search party mentions value in dragon's blood, but this is never developed.

Elodie escapes, Dragon isn't happy and starts raining fire around the mountain, alerting Queen Isabelle that the debt has gone unpaid. She hustles to the ship where Lady Bayford and Elodie's little sister Floria haven't sailed away, and kidnaps Floria to be the new sacrifice. Lady Bayford is unfatally stabbed but manages to find Elodie in the hills and tell her what happened, leading Elodie to rush back.

Dragon, believing the princesses she slays every generation to be of the bloodline that murdered her own daughters, is enraged that Elodie got away and takes Floria deep into her lair as a trap for Elodie. A rather weak battle ensues with Elodie trying to explain the truth about her "royal blood" and Dragon predictably refusing to accept, until Elodie outwits her enough to leave her at death's door. She tells Dragon again about the "ancient ceremony" and notes that Dragon has effectively been doing what was done to her - killing innocent daughters who are not actually of the Aurea royal bloodline. Dragon miserably asks Elodie to kill her, but Elodie predictably (are we sensing a pattern here?) declines and finds magic grubs in the cave to heal the dragon.

Back at the Aurea palace, Prince Henry's wedding to Dupe # 3 is in progress until Elodie interrupts. Prince Henry makes a feeble protest of his regrets for Elodie's fate, only to be shouted down by Queen Isabelle and ignored by Elodie, who exposes the plot to # 3. # 3 wisely takes Elodie's advice to grab her family and GTFO.

Queen Isabelle predictably mocks Elodie's revenge, only for Dragon to show up on the ramparts and torch the whole royal family. Elodie sails back to home with her sister and Lady Bayford, planning to jointly rule home with her stepmother - accompanied by the Dragon.

And...that's it. I honestly don't have a problem with any element of the plot. It's just written so bare when there was so much room for more. Its running time was 110 minutes, and it felt stunted and short. The plot might have done better as a miniseries, with time to flesh out the world and the characters especially.

In the best genre fiction, the locations, histories, and cultures are often "characters" in and of themselves. See: Hogwarts, Middle Earth and all locations therein, Gallifrey, Time Lords, elves, hobbits, Vulcans, Klingons, Arrakis, Fremen, the list goes on and on. This seems to be a point that the writers of Damsel utterly and completely missed.

(What's with the masks in the ceremony?)

(Does the dragon really just chill out for decades at a time in her cave apart from toying with and then torching three princesses every generation?)

(How did the Aurea royal family manage to gather up three girls from other parts of the world every generation and bump them off without also killing their families to keep word from getting out?)

(Did Aurea get wealth as part of the deal with the Dragon? If not, where?)

(Where is Elodie/Lord Bayford's land? Is it part of a larger kingdom? If not, why isn't he a king?)

(Where the hell do all the flaming birdies come from? Wouldn't birds have figured out after that many centuries to stay the hell away from the mountain?)

In almost any type of fiction, the best stories have well-developed characters with enough details about why they are the way they are for the viewer/reader to understand why they act the way they choose in the story. This is a point that the writers of Damsel clearly knew, but either didn't know how to implement or simply chose not to.

It had a good trailer. It had an incredible cast. It was a good concept. It had POTENTIAL!

Major writing fail.

PS - Discovered just as I was about to post this that a novelization came out last year. I'll probably still buy it. Half of why I love The Chronicles of Riddick is Alan Dean Foster's novel. Maybe the book will redeem the world, but it'll just make the screenwriters look that much worse.

[tristandelarkadien]

On Clive & Maurice, pt. 1

Let me try to write out my thoughts on one of my favourite novels, and explain why the casting changes the implications of the movie.

I watched Maurice a while back. The film, not the novel. I had looked forward to seeing Hugh Grant, as I thought him a good choice for the main character. Needless to say, I was surprised and confused to see him playing Clive. Even more surprised and confused to see a small blond actor playing Maurice, and not Clive.

The blond guy was not a bad choice. I am sure he was a good actor. But he came across as more emotional than expected. The fact that he seemed a bit smaller than Clive's actor gave them a different dynamic than the one I had come to expect from the book.

I will lay out my ideas here. If this has already been touched upon in some prior essay, I apologise, but the sadly now ephemeral nature of Tumblr's search function makes it hard to locate.

(I also do not wish to turn this into an 'X is better than Y' debate. Both the film and movie are lovely stories, and they both deserve attention from their respective/shared devotees.)

I would love to cite or review the books involved, but unfortunately, they are outside of my reach due to reasons of money & location. I have endeavoured to cite what I am able to, in hopes of one day being able to afford scholarly literature written on the subject.

Introduction to Romantic friendships

In the early-to-mid 19th century, muscular christianity crossed over with ideals of manliness to create ideas about intense friendship between same-sex people being a precursor to romantic love with individuals of the opposite sex.

This friendship was meant to be mutually enriching. After the embers of passion had given way to mutual companionship, the two were to have a strong, but ultimately ‘normal’ friendship, less passionate than that of youth, as that emotion was now to be directed towards women.

These friendships were depicted in didactic children’s novels, as well as bildungsromans / Coming-of-age tales. We can see this in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, where a school matron puts the unruly, boisterous Tom together with meek, religious Arthur who looks younger than his years.

"Oh, Master Brown," went on the little matron, when the rest had gone, "you're to have Gray's study, Mrs. Arnold says. And she wants you to take in this young gentleman. He's a new boy, and thirteen years old, though he don't look it. He's very delicate, and has never been from home before. And I told Mrs. Arnold I thought you'd be kind to him, and see that they don't bully him at first. He's put into your form, and I've given him the bed next to yours in Number 4; so East can't sleep there this half."

Tom was rather put about by this speech. He had got the double study which he coveted, but here were conditions attached which greatly moderated his joy. He looked across the room, and in the far corner of the sofa was aware of a slight, pale boy, with large, blue eyes and light, fair hair, who seemed ready to shrink through the floor. He saw at a glance that the little stranger was just the boy whose first half-year at a public school would be misery to himself if he were left alone, or constant anxiety to any one who meant to see him through his troubles. (Tom Brown, pt 2, c. 1)

It doesn’t take long for the two to get better acquainted, in a way that enriches both of them, according to the dominating ideology of the age. Tom instructs Arthur in how to ‘fit in’ and not get singled out for bullying, while Arthur makes Tom’s fighting instincts kick in to protect Arthur, rather than roughhouse.

"What a queer chum for Tom Brown," was the comment at the fire; and it must be confessed so thought Tom himself, as he lighted his candle, and surveyed the new green-baize curtains and the carpet and sofa with much satisfaction.

"I say, Arthur, what a brick your mother is to make us so cozy. But look here now, you must answer straight up when the fellows speak to you, and don't be afraid. If you're afraid, you'll get bullied. And don't you say you can sing; and don't you ever talk about home, or your mother and sisters."

Poor little Arthur looked ready to cry.

"But please," said he, "mayn't I talk about—about home to you?"

"Oh yes, I like it. But don't talk to boys you don't know, or they'll call you homesick, or mamma's darling, or some such stuff. What a jolly desk! Is that yours? And what stunning binding! Why, your school-books look like novels!"

And Tom was soon deep in Arthur's goods and chattels, all new and good enough for a fifth-form boy, and hardly thought of his friends outside, till the prayer-bell rang. (Tom Brown, pt 2, c. 1)

Seeing Arthur set a good example by praying leads Tom to remember his own religion, which he has forsaken by refusing to pray before bed.

Tom was sitting at the bottom of his bed unlacing his boots, so that his back was toward Arthur, and he didn't see what had happened, and looked up in wonder at the sudden silence. Then two or three boys laughed and sneered, and a big, brutal fellow, who was standing in the middle of the room, picked up a slipper, and shied it at the kneeling boy, calling him a snivelling young shaver. Then Tom saw the whole, and the next moment the boot he had just pulled off flew straight at the head of the bully, who had just time to throw up his arm and catch it on his elbow.

"Confound you, Brown, what's that for?" roared he, stamping with pain.

"Never mind what I mean," said Tom, stepping onto the floor, every drop of blood in his body tingling; "if any fellow wants the other boot, he knows how to get it."

What would have been the result is doubtful, for at this moment the sixth-form boy came in, and not another word could be said. Tom and the rest rushed into bed and finished their unrobing there, and the old verger, as punctual as the clock, had put out the candle in another minute, and toddled on to the next room, shutting their door with his usual "Good-night, gen'l'm'n."

There were many boys in the room by whom that little scene was taken to heart before they slept. But sleep seemed to have deserted the pillow of poor Tom. For some time his excitement, and the flood of memories which chased one another through his brain, kept him from thinking or resolving. His head throbbed, his heart leapt, and he could hardly keep himself from springing out of bed and rushing about the room. Then the thought of his own mother came across him, and the promise he had made at her knee, years ago, never to forget to kneel by his bedside, and give himself up to his Father, before he laid his head on the pillow, from which it might never rise; and he lay down gently and cried as if his heart would break. He was only fourteen years old. (Tom Brown, pt 2, c. 1)

It is also evident in David Copperfield, where David moons after a boy named ‘Steerforth’ who eventually forsakes him. (Notably, asking if the ‘vulnerable’ boy has a sister is done in Tom Brown as well.)

‘Good night, young Copperfield,’ said Steerforth. ‘I’ll take care of you.’ ‘You’re very kind,’ I gratefully returned. ‘I am very much obliged to you.’

‘You haven’t got a sister, have you?’ said Steerforth, yawning.

‘No,’ I answered.

‘That’s a pity,’ said Steerforth. ‘If you had had one, I should think she would have been a pretty, timid, little, bright-eyed sort of girl. I should have liked to know her. Good night, young Copperfield.’

‘Good night, sir,’ I replied.

I thought of him very much after I went to bed, and raised myself, I recollect, to look at him where he lay in the moonlight, with his handsome face turned up, and his head reclining easily on his arm. He was a person of great power in my eyes; that was, of course, the reason of my mind running on him. No veiled future dimly glanced upon him in the moonbeams. There was no shadowy picture of his footsteps, in the garden that I dreamed of walking in all night. (David Copperfield, Chapter 7)

They reunite as adults, the 90’s miniseries has Steerforth kiss David’s head at that point. David still looks up to Steerforth at this point, which eventually leads to Steerforth forsaking him. The point here is that these friendships were not supposed to go on for too long.

And yes, depending on children to raise children in a milieu without adult supervision can definitely go wrong. Even the writers of the age knew it, both Vachell (The Hill) and Hughes (Tom Brown) mention abuse in their novels. Talbot Baines Reed (The Fifth Form at St: Dominic) mentions a clear cut example of grooming. I mention this, because it will be relevant later on.

From the above passages, we can extract the following framework: An ‘inexperienced’, vulnerable boy, is shielded and educated by an ‘experienced’ boy. I can write multiple essays on the topic (And I just might), but at the end of the day, this is what we need in order to move on to part 2.

[bebx]

hey!! i’m having a little dilemma and i’ve followed you for so long now that i trust your judgement and reasoning, so i was hoping you’d be able to help,, you’ve helped me before when i was too nervous to not be anonymous so i’m back again 😼

it’s nothing serious by any means!! i’m just a fic writer,, smut being my jam 😎 although i don’t get a lot of chance to write between the lack of ideas for the people i feel i “should” be writing for (you’ll see what i mean in a sec) and getting ready to finish a levels n start uni,, still, i enjoy writing when i can! but i’ve always thought i should only write about fictional characters because they’re exactly that, yanno? but lately i’ve had ideas for real “celebs” (youtubers especially, some musicians,, maybe some actors too?), and i wasn’t sure if that’s kinda immoral or creepy,,, i don’t really know any of their stances on being written about except for one youtuber group who has a series of reading and “acting out” smutty fan fictions written about them, and they just laugh it off, so i figure it can’t be so bad, right?

i know quite a few people on here write for actual people (i cannae recall if you have but i thought i remembered something about tom hiddleston back in the day? apologies if i’m mistaken!!) and i enjoy those when they pop up, although i don’t necessarily search for them anymore.. so i suppose what i’m asking is- what do you think about it? is it immoral or can it be justified? because at this point i may have to write it either way and just not publish it, cos i’ve got ideas for these guys dribbling from my littol brain and out my ears 😭👹

you’re wonderful btw, ty for being someone people feel like they can come to on this scary app 🫶🫶🫶

Hi, thank you for sticking around. I really appreciate it 💗

That being said, I’d like to start with a disclaimer that my opinions regarding this delicate topic are only opinions — they are not facts nor laws that have to be abided — and the answer I’m about to give is in no way to shame any person or to cause any negativity towards any person at all; here we go, the only time I’ve written about real people was when I was younger, back in my One Direction Wattpad era when I “didn’t know better” and I have taken all of my works about them on that site down because, looking back, I’m no longer comfortable having had written about them, since they’re real people and not fictional characters who I can shove my “headcanons” into and act like they’re my own project. Again, this is only how I personally feel about the matter as I’ve grown and am no longer the person I was years ago. No one harassed me into taking my works down, it’s only that my perspective on things has changed.

The only Tom Hiddleston related fics I’ve written about are about Loki and occasionally the other character he’s portrayed, sir Thomas Sharpe, but not Tom himself. And I don’t think I’ll ever write anything about Tom. One person’s reaction upon “being written about in a fanfic” cannot be applied to every other person and I don’t think it’s right to assume everyone would be comfortable being written about in a fanfic, even if they might not ever see it. It still feels to me like a violation in some way? Especially since they didn’t consent to be written about.

I’m all for “write whatever you want” but in my humble opinion, this applies to fictional characters, not real people.

I don’t know if this is the answer you were looking for, and I apologize if it’s not, but as to whether or not it’s morally acceptable or if it’s justifiable, I don’t think I can give you an answer for that, since 1.) I’m not the one being written about, so it’s not my place to assume or assure how the people who were written about would feel, whether or not they’d be comfortable about it and 2.) I don’t think it’s a good idea to rely solely on other people’s advice to determine whether or not something is morally acceptable or if it’s justifiable, because at the end of the day, the answer you’ll get will only be opinions of the person you’ve asked, and you might just get the complete opposite answer from another person, because there’s no “right or wrong” answer but only opinions and each person will have different opinions. I can give you advice, what my options on the matter are, but the only person you should trust the most is yourself.

Again, these are just how I personally feel. I know a lot of people on here also write about real people and all that, and I want to clarify again that this is not to “attack” or to “shame” anybody. We all have our reasons, and… yeah, you do you. I will never judge anybody based on this matter, because it’s not my place. My opinions are that; I’m personally not comfortable reading or writing fics about people who aren’t fictional, but if you are, I will not shame or attack you for it, and I will absolutely not “distant myself from you because I think I’m morally superior than you” — like I said, we all have our own reasoning behind our decisions, and I will never act like I’m “morally superior” than anyone. I hope you have a good time and I hope you’re comfortable with whatever decision you make. My little blog will always be a safe place for you.

[xtruss]

Why Americans Stopped Buying Convertibles

We’ve Traded the Open-air Dream For Climate-Controlled Isolation.

— Mark Dent | May 3, 2023

A year after I graduated college, I decided to buy a car. I’d been driving a hand-me-down Hyundai sedan, but I wanted something more reliable for the miles I racked up driving around sprawling Dallas for my job as a reporter.

At first, I narrowed my search to the Mazda 6 — at least it was more fun than a Corolla. But as I saved a few options online, hoping for something in dark green, I said to hell with all that. I could buy a convertible for roughly the same price.

A couple weeks later, a dealer showed me a 2004 Ford Mustang, white with a cream-colored canvas top. He pressed a switch on the center console, and down went the top for my test drive. I’d never ridden in a convertible before. On back roads twisting through farmland, it felt like the sky had been lowered from the atmosphere, settling just a few feet above me, close enough to touch the clouds.

An early 2000s Mustang. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

I bought the Mustang and drove it back into the city with the top down. Over the next couple years, I drove it like that as often as I could: on cool nights with the heat turned on and windows rolled up, on a summer road trip nearly all the way through Kansas until the sunburn became unbearable.

I never got sick of the convertible. It turned everyday monotony into an adventure, replaced the rigid confinement of sedans and SUVs with freedom and openness. Who wouldn’t want one?

But the year I bought my Mustang, in 2010, US convertible sales were down to ~140K, less than half of what they’d been just a few years earlier. That was during the Great Recession, near the auto industry’s nadir. Still, the decline has continued.

According to S&P Global Mobility, new retail registrations of convertibles totaled ~70K in the 12 months between March 2023 and February 2024, comprising ~0.6% of all vehicle sales. That’s down from ~2% in the mid-2000s.

2023 sales of the Mustang convertible, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, were down ~87% compared to 2001. Its rival, the Chevrolet Camaro, has been discontinued.

Convertibles are an endangered species, along with the American ethos they exemplified. When Carvana polled Americans on their dream cars last year, the most coveted was an SUV. The characteristic they sought most in their dream car wasn’t emotional attachment — it was technology.

We’re losing the messy, hair-flowing-in-the-wind version of the American Dream to something climate-controlled and closed off to the world. And we might never get it back.

The Car That ‘Satisfies A Youthful Ambition’

Growing up in the ’90s, I rode countless, boring miles in the passenger seats of my dad’s Toyota Camry sedan and mom’s Plymouth Voyager minivan.

I pined for a more exotic ride just out of my reach. My next-door neighbor had an old European convertible — a midlife crisis purchase if there ever were one — and I remember the college-aged woman across the street pulling into her family’s driveway (and looking far cooler) in a Mazda Miata.

This yearning went back generations, to the time automakers, after painstakingly working to enclose early model cars with roofs, realized they could spark people’s imaginations (and extract more from their wallets) by offering a topless experience.

From Rhett Butler to beachgoers, everybody loved the convertible. Hulton Archive/H. Armstrong Roberts/Classicstock/Tom Kelley/Gary Leonard/Getty Images

Costing anywhere from $2K to $5K in the 1930s, roughly 2x-4x the average family income at the time, convertibles made by Duesenberg, Rolls-Royce, and Packard became status symbols for the prosperous few who could afford them.

“It is possible to follow the careers of stars through their motor cars,” noted a reporter in 1938. “When he or she first reaches the dizzy heights of movie fame, flash, gaudy cars are in order.”

Clark Gable owned a Packard convertible, and actor Wayne Morris preferred a topless ride in his Lincoln Zephyr “in any type of weather.” Marlene Dietrich was chauffeured in a tan Rolls-Royce convertible.

“No doubt,” wrote the reporter, “the gaudy car… satisfies a youthful ambition — and all of us have had it.”

The less starry got to fulfill their desires when Chevy, Lincoln, and Buick introduced roomy, space-aged convertibles in the ’50s and ’60s. My grandparents bought a 1962 seafoam-green Impala.

In 1964, Ford released the Mustang, the brainchild of famed auto developer and executive Lee Iacocca. Priced at ~$2.3K, or about one-third of the median family income, the Mustang was a magnet for middle-class Americans who wanted to inject adventure into their daily lives. It also helped bring annual convertible sales to ~500K in the mid-’60s, around 5% of total vehicle sales in America.

Safety concerns and a weak economy put a kibosh on convertible dreams in the ’70s. Cadillac claimed its ’76 Eldorado would be the last convertible ever designed, and total convertible sales fell to ~43K in 1982. But Iacocca reignited the flame with the release of the Chrysler LeBaron that year, ushering in the expanding convertible landscape I grew up with.

The Hustle

My dream car back then was a Dodge Viper, but I saw more practical convertibles everywhere in the ’90s, the peak era for manufacturers to turn the simplest of car models into adventure machines, equipped with rollover bars or fortified support pillars for safety.

The Pontiac Sunfire, Toyota Paseo, Chevrolet Cavalier, Mercury Capri, Honda Civic del Sol, Ford Probe, and Geo Metro (which could’ve lost to a riding lawn mower in a drag race) all had convertible versions.

The not-so-fast Geo Metro exemplified the wide variety of convertibles available a generation ago. Cars & Bids

Annual convertible sales Climbed to ~170K in the mid-’90s. They increased to ~315K in 2004, about 2% of the entire vehicle market, as automakers perfected the retractable hard top (and, somehow, convinced Americans to buy PT Cruiser convertibles).

Yet, as I failed to save for a Toyota Celica convertible by my 16th birthday — my realistic vision of a gaudy purchase — a tectonic market shift was underway. You could see it reflected in choices made from the Heartland to Hollywood.

After Good Will Hunting catapulted Matt Damon and Ben Affleck onto the A-list, for instance, they splurged on cars just like Gable, Morris, and other young stars before them.

Except they bought Jeep Grand Cherokees. “The really dope new truck at the time,” Affleck later explained to IMDB.

The SUV Loophole

Back in the late ’70s, the legal distinction that helped precipitate the decline of convertibles (and cars in general) seemed insignificant. A loophole the size of a needle eye.

In response to the oil crisis and a burgeoning environmental movement, federal regulations went into effect in 1978 requiring automakers’ passenger car fleets to meet a fuel standard of 18 miles per gallon. But “passenger cars” meant sedans, station wagons, coupes, and convertibles.

It didn’t apply to “light trucks” such as minivans, pickups, and SUVs, the latter two of which were mostly used by farmers, contractors, and laborers who needed the extra space for hauling material. To avoid placing an economic burden on workers, light-truck fleets were subjected to lower standards. While automakers had to shrink cars to hit the fuel standard, light trucks remained spacious.

So began an emphasis on SUVs and trucks (and minivans, at least until an association with soccer moms doomed them). SUV sales increased from ~112K in 1981 to ~800K in 1987.

Most Americans still didn’t need to haul anything, but they were hooked. In 1987, a J.D. Power and Associates survey even found SUV owners felt a sense of adventure while driving them — similar to a convertible.

For automakers, the economics checked out.

“You can sell a Cadillac for a lot more than a Chevy even though the Cadillac only costs marginally more to produce than a Chevy. The same thing goes for those truck-based SUVs because they’re sold as rugged,” says David Lucsko, an Auburn University professor who researches automotive history. “You can sell them at a premium and rake in the profits.”

The Hustle

Later, brands popularized the crossover utility vehicle, giving consumers the space of an SUV with a smoother ride. Crossovers, despite being built on the same frame as a car, are typically classified as light trucks. The takeover was complete: Light trucks outsold cars for the first time in 2002. Their sales now comprise nearly 80% of the vehicle market.

No Cars Means No Convertibles

That shift has filled the roads with increasingly large vehicles, which is hardly an ideal environment for convertibles. But Drew Dorian, managing editor for Car and Driver, says he’s doubtful safety fears have driven their decline, noting that safety-concerned families would be unlikely to buy convertibles anyway.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found that, while SUVs have lower driver fatality rates than the average vehicle, convertibles aren’t any less safe than enclosed sedans or coupes.

Speaking of sedans and coupes: Many brands don’t even make them anymore. The only Ford car that hasn’t been discontinued in North America, for instance, is the Mustang. No more Taurus or Focus or Fusion. That’s been really bad for convertibles, which are typically derived from cars.

To develop all those ’90s convertibles, automakers just tweaked the design of popular sedans at a low cost. Now, according to Tom Libby, associate director of industry analysis and loyalty solutions at S&P Global Mobility, cars aren’t popular enough to justify turning into convertibles.

“To propose a convertible now, it’s almost impossible to create a proposal that includes a volume that’s big enough to make money,” he says.

The Hustle

Money is also in short supply. Car companies are investing huge sums in the transition to electric vehicles, Libby says, and sales of EVs slowed last year, complicating the calculus of how to emphasize true EVs vs. hybrids.

Just as the purchase of a convertible requires a feeling of relative financial security and a sense of boldness, so does the act of designing one. And right now most automakers lack both.

Opting For Open Air

As with movies and clothing, trends rarely die in the auto industry. They go into hibernation until one successful experiment draws copycats and the trend becomes inescapable.

Just as the success of Iacocca’s Chrysler LeBaron led other brands to turn popular car models into convertibles in the ’80s and ’90s, Libby can imagine brands developing SUV convertibles as they seek niches for consumers demanding greater variation.

This makes sense: There’s increased time for adventure as millennials delay having kids or don’t have them at all. While summers may be excruciatingly hot, especially in the Sunbelt, the other seasons are warmer than ever. And Gen Zers crave experiences.

“The enjoyment of open air,” Libby says, “I don’t think that’s gone away.”

“But based on what happened to Nissan a few years ago,” he adds, “I don’t think [SUV convertibles are] imminent.”

He’s referring to Nissan’s crossover Murano convertible, which failed to gain traction in the 2010s. Land Rover’s Evoque was also swiftly discontinued. Americans spoke with their wallets: They didn’t want the open air.

The Land Rover Evoque. Andy Green/Land Rover via Getty Images

When I’m driving on temperate days, I rarely even see other drivers with their windows down. That might not be a coincidence. Lucsko, the car historian at Auburn, says automakers now design vehicles for consumers to seal themselves in.

“I think the car has become more and more a cocoon where we go to be isolated from the world,” he says.

Driving a convertible means being exposed to the world. It means embracing the elements and putting yourself out there, an ever-harder proposition in our increasingly curated, digital lives.

My own convertible era ended years ago. I had to ditch my Mustang for a move to hilly, snowbound central Pennsylvania. But I haven’t ditched my ambition for the open air, and I hope Americans haven’t either. Whether it’s a classic droptop or a futuristic roofless SUV, it will always feel good to say to hell with all that and buy a convertible.